Migrant Detention

Aerial image of the Everglades detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz.

Judge orders temporary halt to construction at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center

The Associated Press

A federal judge has ordered a temporary halt to construction of an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" — as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. Under Thursday's order, the facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction.

Workers install a sign reading "Alligator Alcatraz" at the entrance to a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.

Immigration

Understanding key terms swirling around Alligator Alcatraz and immigration enforcement in the US

Mark Schlakman, Florida State University/The Conversation

A July 2025 CBS/YouGov poll asked Americans, "Do you approve or disapprove of the Trump administration's program to find and deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally?"The respondents were divided, with 49% of Americans approving and 51% disapproving.

President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and others, tour "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee.

Immigration

Judge orders Florida, federal officials to produce 'Alligator Alcatraz' agreements

The Associated Press

A federal judge has ordered officials to produce agreements showing who has legal authority at "Alligator Alcatraz," an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. The order, issued Monday, is part of a civil rights lawsuit claiming detainees' rights are being violated. Officials must provide documents by Thursday. The facility was hastily constructed over a month ago. The lawsuit says detainees are being held without charges and are barred from meeting attorneys. Environmental groups have also sued over the facility, arguing the project didn't follow environmental laws. The Archdiocese of Miami celebrated the first Mass at the center on Saturday.

Dagon Flores and Marvin Agular were there to support those who will be affected by the SB 1718 law. A massive march and rally was held June 28, 2023, beginning at Centennial Park, marching through downtown Fort Myers, along Palm Beach Blvd to El Nuevo Maguey a restaurant on Palm Beach Blvd. From June 28th to July 5th the immigrant community of Florida have entered into a work stoppage to protest the now law SB 1718. The marched to demonstrate their value to the economy.

Immigration

Even before Trump took office, immigrants across the country lived in fear of deportation

Eileen Kelley

The Urban Institute found that immigrants worried about essential activities such as driving, talking to police, seeking health care services, or taking their children to school a month before Trump came back to the White House.

Police face off with demonstrators during an immigrant rights protest Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Immigration

'A Day Without Immigrants' movement is meant to show how crucial immigrants are to the U.S.

Eileen Kelley

From LA to New York, to the belly of Florida, immigrants and supporters didn't go to work and school in protest of Donald Trump's immigration policies

Immigration

Communities across the region feeling crippled by mass deportation orders

Eileen Kelley

Haitian American advocate calls measures such as school and church raids un-American

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens to a question during a press conference Sept. 7, 2022, in Miami, Fla. The Republican governors of Florida and Texas have delivered migrants on planes and buses to Washington, D.C., New York City, and even Martha's Vineyard, but they may just be getting started.

DOT and a Florida contractor face a public records lawsuit over migrant flights

The News Service of Florida

An open-government group has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Transportation and a state contractor, alleging they did not comply with public-records requests stemming from controversial flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference Sept. 22, 2022, in Miami.

A South Florida lawmaker is challenging the constitutionality of Gov. DeSantis' migrant flights

The News Service of Florida

The 13-page lawsuit emphasizes that the migrants, mostly from Venezuela, had been in Texas, not Florida, after crossing the border with Mexico.

A man, who is part of a group of immigrants that had just arrived, flashes a thumbs up Wednesday Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration's failed border policies.

Surprise is key part of migrant travel from Florida, Texas

The Associated Press

Migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard on the orders of Florida Gov.

Government & Politics

Migrant Detention Protests Held Across Southwest Florida & U.S.

John Davis

Protesters in Southwest Florida demonstrated Tuesday afternoon, at events in Bradenton, Cape Coral, Naples and Sarasota against the Trump administration’s…